


The Confliction of all that is 'Zim'

by maxhie



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Dib Being Creepy (Invader Zim), Dib and Gaz are Siblings (Invader Zim), Dib is So Done (Invader Zim), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Frenemies Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Gaz Being Gaz (Invader Zim), Help, How Do I Tag, M/M, Slow Build, Tags Are Hard, Zim Being an Asshole (Invader Zim), Zim Being an Idiot (Invader Zim)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:48:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxhie/pseuds/maxhie
Summary: Five years ago, he disappeared without a trace.••••When Irken 'Invader' Zim falls off the face of the planet, it's up to Dib to get his former rival back. But a lot changes in four years. When being presented with proof of alien life, your lifelong dream, do you rat out your rival for personal gain? Or do you join the enemy to take down a threat bigger than anyone could have imagined?
Relationships: Dib & GIR (Invader Zim), Dib & Professor Membrane, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim), GIR & Zim (Invader Zim), Gaz & GIR (Invader Zim)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	1. Cause

**_Zim's world stopped spinning that day._ **

He stared at the computer screen with lifeless eyes. Turns out, being told that your entire existence is a joke isn't easy to process.

The symbol of the Irken Empire was plastered onto the screen of his _defective_ computer. 

_Defective, defective, defective_.

He was in a trance-like state, not entirely processing what happened, nor wanting to.

_Defective._

Zim's vision began to blur. The computer screen that he continued to stare at began to pull him in, until it was all he could focus on. The light that poured into his eyes triggered memories that appeared in the form of tears.

He scrubbed at his eyes, refusing to let anything fall. Tears are for losers. Tears are for _defectives._

_'I'm not a defective.'_

_'Zim doesn't cry.'_

_'Zim… does NOT cry.'_

He repeated it like a mantra in his head. Like one of those terrible earwigs you get from hearing the terrible, catchy jingles of television advertisements. The ones that GIR plays on repeat, daily, without fail.

_'GIR. He's a defective as well, then.'_

The first being he could truly call a 'friend'. He'd made so many allies over the years, but he now realizes...

He never really considered them friends. But neither did they.

It made him feel a lot more alone than he truly was.

He took a moment to think back to his training days. To how he was constantly suspected by others of being a 'defective,' and how he refused to listened to it. 

Defectives are an embarrassment to the Irken Empire. Often being made an example of, via Existence Evaluations. When an Irken shows strong signs of defiance, destructiveness and emotion, they are evaluated. If they fail, they die.

Every Irken is conditioned to use 'Defective' as a form of insult. To degrade the incompetent, the small, the stubborn… to simply insult those in their path to greatness. And yet… Zim hadn't died. He had a lucky streak, constantly managing to escape his seemingly inevitable death by pure coincidence. 

_'Death.'_ His entire body stiffened, claws sinking into the couch with enough pressure to break the stiff fabric. His face was frozen in fear, terrified of the prospect that he is a _sitting bull_ to those wishing to climb ranks in the Empire.

He'd really been rather careless all this time, then.

All they had to do was return him to the Armada to be ridiculed and tormented for hours on end, to result in his public execution. The Tallest would laugh at him.

The Tallest. One of the few people he looked up to, had up and told him that he was _stupid._ Even Dib couldn't manage to put a _fraction_ of that blatant and utter **_hatred_ ** into that one small, childish insult.

At that moment, he knew he had to leave. To run, and escape to somewhere he wouldn't be found. If the Tallest truly hated him to the point where Dib's seemed near inexistent, he'd be done for. Not only would he be publicly executed, they would take the time to break his resolve down. To crush him like an _earth bug._

Dib would hate him forever if he left. So he won't say goodbye, won't disgrace his rival with a goodbye. 

And with that, he left.


	2. All Good Devils Masquerade Under the Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title taken from Tally Hall's 'Turn the Lights Off'.

**_"Dib Membrane. What did I JUST say?"_ **

Dib sighed, and raised his head to look at the teacher. He'd just spent over an hour of sketching small designs into the corners of his notebook instead of studying. He had, after all, learned the majority of anything math related at a young age. He was bored. Nothing could satisfy his ongoing need to learn about what he  **_DOESN'T_ ** know. Of what lies beyond.

He opened his mouth to reply to the teacher, but promptly shut it as the teacher snatched his notebook with a scoff.

The teacher continued with the lesson, but Dib payed little attention. He began to drift into his own headspace. 

When Zim disappeared off the face of the planet, Dib freaked. 

And now, he's sitting here, in a class he could pass with his eyes closed, daydreaming without a care in the world. 

12-year old Dib would have thought him insane. 

But then, he grew up.

Matured.

He began to somewhat understand that Zim had never been a true threat, just like his sister had said all those times. 

He didn't know what to do with himself. So, he threw himself into the arts. 

He drew, sang, played piano, and wrote.

The writing helped him understand himself. The words rolled off his tongue like a waterfall over rocks. Messy and unfiltered, but unrivalled in beauty.

The beauty of hatred. The beauty in evil, pride, jealousy… all of those things that are considered 'forbidden' topics. 

And Dib hated a lot of things. Like his dad's refusal to recognize his own son's passion for the supernatural, his sister's aggression, the incompetence of his classmates…

_ 'Zim, and everyone involved with Zim.' _ he thought. A few years ago,  _ He'd _ be at the very top of that list. 

But he had come to a frustrating, dead-end conclusion that he couldn't just ignore.

He and Zim… weren't that different. 

Yeah. That's the big revelation. And it scared him. He realized they were practically crafted from the same mold, and it bothered him. How could he **_possibly_** hate someone who faced issues just as big, if not **bigger** than he did!

Dib pushed those thoughts away for years. They tended to come poking around the corner when he spaced out in class.

But this time, he couldn't stop them. And so he let the last few years of unasked questions, emotions, confusion, hatred, and wonder hit him like a train; all at once.

_ 'Where did he go?' _

_ 'How could he do this?' _

_ 'Is this my fault?' _

But the one that stood out to him the most was:

_ 'What could be so  _ **_GODDAMN_ ** _ frightening that  _ **_ZIM,_ ** _ the prideful, EGOTISTICAL MANIACAL ALIEN would fall off of the face of the goddamn planet?' _

He stood up and grabbed his bag. Ignoring his teacher's protests and threats, he walked out the door, and then slowly picked his pace up to a jog. The doors to the school swung behind him as he pushed past them.

The only thing on his mind was investigation. He needed to know, needed to write. To uncover this mystery. To understand his rival, his 'enemy'.

Before he knew it, he was before Zim's doorstep. 

And he had no idea where to start; to even begin to answer that burning question in that back of his mind.

And so he took one step forward.

And another,

And another,

And another.

And then he was standing at the front door.

Tentatively, he reached for the doorknob, and turned it.

_ "Jesus Christ, it's like a fucking tornado rolled through here." _

Quite literally. There was a self-sustaining trash tornado in the corner of the room. Scrap metal and nails littered the floor, as well as crumpled up balls of paper, broken pencils, and a folder.

All the signs of a hurried escape. 

And it was extremely disturbing to look at. He could practically see Zim's panic to leave, to escape death. 

_ 'But from what?,' he wondered. _

"Seriously, what kind of abomination could scare Zim into abandoning his 'mission'?," he asked himself.

The lights immediately shut off, and the door slammed behind him. He took a step back, heart suddenly picking up pace.

  
  


Before he could even begin to think of a way to escape, multiple gun-like weapons shot out from the walls, all pointing at Dib. None of which looked familiar.

And then a voice spoke.

**"IDENTIFY YOURSELF."**

As soon as he heard the voice, he realized he was in  **_deep shit._ **

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath in, prepared to answer.

He replied in the most calm way possible.

"Dib. My name is Dib Membrane."

He could feel his heart pound in his head. The sound of something shifting. Movement, he realized. He couldn't let his guard down just because he was trying to play it cool.

**"Dib...Membrane?,"** the voice tried.

"Yep, that's my name. Don't overuse it," the boy countered, not missing a beat.

He heard the telltale sound of compact metal skittering across the floor. He felt like he was being watched.

**_'Pak Legs,'_ ** he thought to himself, clicking his tongue. The memories that prompted made him shiver a bit. 

**_'Great. Well, I'm dealing with an Irken, and it's not Zim. Pretty much already dead,'_ ** he mused to himself.

And then there was another voice, speaking in a deep, gutteral language mostly made up of clicks, grunts and hissing. 

They sounded like they were having an argument. 

Dib took this time to study his surroundings, despite the darkness. 

Chair...table...couch… nails littered across the floor.

**And then, the lights turned on.**

**"So, Earthling. Where is Zim?"**


	3. Fever Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter is finally up lol

**_"So, Earthling. Where is Zim?"_ **

It sounded like a line straight out of a sci-fi movie. Like, 'take me to your leaders!' type of line. 

Slowly his vision adjusted, and he was met with; as he suspected, two pairs of shiny, very _Irken_ eyes.

One pair was red...the other was purple.

He had the feeling that these two were not very happy with Zim.

**_'No shit sherlock!'_ ** he mused to himself **_._ **

Putting on a bit of a brave face, he decided that he wasn't gonna put up with any Irken bullshit. 'Specially from those he didn't know.

"What's it to you, _alien?_ Don't you have a totalitarian regime to help run? Unpaid labor to enforce?" he challenged.

The red one scoffed and turned to their purple counterpart. The Irkens then shared a look with one another. A 'go-ahead' of some sort. 

The red-eyed Irken glared at him.

"Listen **_earth-bug_ ** , we are dealing with issues far outside of your capability of understanding. Now answer the question. **_Have you seen Zim?_ ** **"** The red one asked, holding a piece of paper with a photo of a very, very sinister-looking Zim.

It's not a word he thought he'd ever use to describe the alien. Zim always looked ridiculous, acted in a ridiculous manner, and left his opponents questioning their sanity.

That... can't be the Zim he knows.

"No."

An honest, to-the-point reply.

The red irken nearly growled in response, tapping his foot impatiently.

"We know who you are, and we know that **_you_ ** _know him._ So, if you're lying, I strongly suggest you tell the truth." the purple one countered.

"I'm telling the truth." Dib knew he was pushing his luck with his answers. He'd always been stubborn though- and if aliens are how he goes out, then at least he'd finally have proof.

The Irkens eyed each other. The red-eyed one spoke to the purple one in that same deep language from earlier. It's a lot of hissing and clicking; sounds that couldn't possibly come from a human mouth.

The red one looked at him with suspicion and anger. The purple one seemed intrigued. Dib felt like he was being studied for their amusement. Like an ant in an ant farm. The red one seemed to be the more competent of the two- the purple one seems to be tagging along for amusement.

The purple one spoke up, this time in english.

"So, you know Zim's status then."

Status? Zim's status...his progress on his mission? No. No, that can't be it. Dib is fairly certain these are important people, and they wouldn't be here for something as small as that.

He furrowed his brows in confusion. Playing dumb might get him the answers he needs.

"Status. Like his status as an Irken, or…"

"Wait, so you know we're Irkens, and...you aren't terrified? Or are you just stupid?" the purple Irken asked.

The red one rolled his eyes, waving his hand in a 'get on with it' movement.

Dib deduced that the purple-eyed one was dodging the question, but he decided not to point it out. He'd rather not have his eyes _gouged out_ for meddling in secret Irken matters.

"Should I be afraid?" the human drawled.

They both stared at him like he was stupid.

~🔗~

Purple stared at Red with puppy dog eyes.

  
  


"Can't we keep him? He's funny," Purple said in Irken.

"Purple, you can't be serious. This earth-boy knows so many things about us! He's a threat to the Irken Empire!"

"Oh c'mon, Red. He's so stupid, what could he possibly do with the information? I mean, look at his big, stupid head!"

~🔗~

**...Were they staring at his head?**

Dib furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. No. His head wasn't _that_ big. Honestly, the big-head comments are getting old. He'd GROWN INTO his head. His head is NOT BIG!

Not big...

* * *

_'What are your species' main weaknesses? Huh? Huh? Huh?'_

_'Who's that large-headed kid?'_

_'I don't know...but his head **is** large...' _

_'...Excuse me? Alien scum? Gimme your planet's coordinates!'_

* * *

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. 

_'Oh god._ '

And that's when he recognized it.

_Recognized **them** **.**_

Right as he was about to speak, the same weapons loaded again.

**"WAIT!"** he shouts, panicked.

The purple one paused. 

And then the one in red spoke.

"Why did you stop? He has knowledge of the Irken Military training! Knows about US! He knows about ZIM! Kill him!"

The purple one sighed dramatically. "Fine. But how about we hear out his last words _before_ we blast him to bits?" The two tiredly turned to face the human boy.

**_The Tallest. That's who they are. Zim's trashy leaders._**

Dib bit his lip anxiously, knowing his next sentence would ultimately decide whether he would die right then or not. 

"I can help you. I probably know him better than anyone." 

Purple's eyes opened in surprise, turning to look at the boy. Red's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"So what's the catch?" Red spoke up.

The tallest practically bore their eyes into his soul, waiting for a response.

Dib internally cursed. That's right, if he gets them to Zim, there's no more **Zim.** They would take him back to his planet, likely kill him. 

_'Wait, isn't that what I want?'_ he thinks to himself.

No. No, if Zim dies, it's gonna be by _his_ hands and his hands only.

_'Zim's death isn't exactly in your favor right now, genius.' he berated himself._

"Well, why do you need Zim so badly?" the boy countered, doing his best to deflect.

Purple just ' _uhh's'_ and scratches his chin, staring off.

Red rolls his eyes and makes eye contact with the human. 

"He's defective! He'll cause an intergalactic war if he makes one wrong move! He needs to be contained, because nobody can manage to kill him!" Red shouted in frustration. 

Purple winces at the shouting

Dib just sighs.

"Have you tried reaching him in any way that doesn't involve threats?" the human chanced.

The Tallest shared a confused look.

_"No?"_ the two replied in unison.

Dib rubbed at his temples in frustration. Seriously, Irkens may be the smartest _'beings'_ in the galaxy, but for so much intelligence, they really are lacking in the wisdom and common sense department.

"Well, maybe you should try contacting him. He doesn't tend to think ahead. And, he really doesn't respond too well to violence. I would know," Dib said, slowly raising the side of his red shirt, revealing a huge scar running from his ribs down to his pelvic area.

The Tallest both recoiled in...disgust? Concern? He couldn't quite tell. Probably the former.

He needed to twist this situation to benefit him, and fast. The Tallest were quickly losing interest.

"Well. I could help you guys find him. Shouldn't be too difficult." He tried.

The Tallest eyed him in suspicion.

He decided to chance a step forward-

-And every single weapon immediately had reloaded, this time with laserlike pinpoints on his forehead. _A threat._

But the only thing that crossed Dib's mind was-

"Oh COME ON. My head is NOT that big!"

Purple faked a cough.

The weapons slowly lowered, and Dib took a large sidestep to the left.

"His head _is_ pretty large, though..." Red whispered.

Dib rolled his eyes at the Irken's antics. Do all Irkens seriously have this big of a superiority complex? 

He walked up to the computer by the couch. But his eyes were focused more on the couch. He took note of the physical changes.

'Scratch marks. Those weren't there before…'

He then redirected his focus on his main goal, gaining information on 'Zim's whereabouts. But mostly living through this day. He'd be lucky if he left this base unscathed.

The human continued to rack through his brain for ways he'd gotten information on Zim in the past. This one would be a stretch...but it might work.

He cleared his throat, and directed his focus onto the television m

"Computer!"

Silence. Dead silence. 

**"....what."**

Dib blinked rapidly for a few moments, slightly startled.

"Oh wow, ok. I didn't expect that to work whatsoever." The human blurted out.

The computer grunted in affirmation. It sounded so done with life.

"Computer, send a...transmission. To Invader Zim." Dib tried.

**"...but I don't want to."** The computer complains.

Tallest Red cleared his throat.

"Computer, set up a transmission to Zim." he ordered.

**"Yes, my Tallest!"**

~🔗~

Fiddling with his latest creation, Zim is tired of being interrupted while he works. This new PAK modification is the most important one yet. 

It will make his trips in between planets a lot easier. He's going to create a holographic disguise, even better than the one Tak made.

But he keeps getting INTERRUPTED!

" **GIR**! Get OFF of the COUCH!" Your filthy, stinky GERMS will get it all STINKY! And GERMY!"

Gir pouted at this, crossing his tiny arms at his superior.

"But mastaaah, I like da couch! Is like a puppy!" He stuck his tongue out.

Zim sighed and turned back to his work. This work is far too important to get distracted from. Modifying his PAK was a constant attempt to make his life a bit less complicated. The last thing he needed was his PAK tampering with his emotional impulses, which tends to be a side effect after each modification. More so than usual, of course.

The Irken's been getting better at controlling that over the past few years. Less impulsive. Less denial. More analysation skills.

He's accepted his fate. He will no longer deny what he's fated to become, or deny what will happen.

**_"Incoming Transmission from Earth, GAHHHH."_**

The Invader flinched and dropped all of his tools. His magenta eyes widened, and dropped to the floor. 

_"...No."_


	4. Whether You Should Live or Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title from Scissor Sisters :) check em out

"Incoming Transmission from Earth."

"... _No."_

No...

No. This couldn't be happening. Surely he didn't forget to remove all traces of information that would lead to him, right?

He glared down at his PAK. If he forgot anything, chances are, it's the fault of the damn metal lump.

"Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" he shouted, pulling on his antenna.

He's so dumb! How could he let this happen?

He swiftly reattached his PAK, and turned to face the computer monitor.

It can't be that bad. The transmission was from Earth, it's just Dib! Yeah, it's just Dib. Nobody else. Because nobody could possibly get past his infallible security.

Dib could, though.

Dib. The only person who saw him as any kind of threat. As any other person who would threaten the things that he did. He didn't underestimate him because of his height. He took his word for it when he made threats, never missed a fight.

He missed that. And the earth-boy deserves an explanation. Though, if he's contacting him, he likely has an idea of why he left.

The Dib likely wouldn't leave him alone after this if he were to choose to respond to the transmission.

And so he took one step forward.

And another,

And another,

And another.

Until he stood at the front of the monitor.

Dib was never shy about how he felt. He was upfront, to the point of aggression. Zim was in constant denial, to the point of aggression. His opinions tended to change so that he always had the upper hand. It made him feel more secure. More powerful.

He knew it was stupid. But the Dib was taller than him. How could they possibly be rivals if there was no constant fight for power?

And he knew that Dib wouldn't allow anyone else to hurt him. He knew that Dib would go to extreme lengths to make sure their rivalry was exclusive. So he wasn't worried about that. No. He was worried about him being convinced, manipulated. Dib goes out of his way to be troublesome to the alien. To screw up his 'plans'. And he admired that about the human. He had the drive of an Irken Elite. No, more than that. His drive was on another level. A Dib level.

He was worried that Dib would get pulled into something far bigger than himself.

And so he responded to the transmission.

And was greeted by the sight of Dib. He sighed in relief, and prepared himself for a boatload of questions and demands.

But then he looked again.

And was greeted by another set of eyes.

Not eyes like the Dib's, no. Eyes like his.

"... _No_."

He froze in place.

"... _No_!"

No. No, no, no no no. This couldn't be happening. Not only had the Tallest gotten ahold of him, they also got ahold of the human. Dragged the boy into their intergalactic affairs.

It was unfair. The Irken Empire would then know the true nature of Earth.

Earth was his to destroy. His to conquer.

He couldn't help but feel possessive. He didn't own many things that didn't belong to the Irken Empire. He didn't even own himself. His face tingled from the anxiety. He didn't want one of the few things he thought to be his ripped out of his grasp.

"DIB! GET **AWAY** FROM THEM!"

"Zim, it's ok-" he tried to calm him, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"GET AWAY! NOW!"

" _Zim_ -"

" _OUT_!"

"Zim!-"

" _ **OUUUUUT**_! OUT OUT **OUT**!"

"Zim, _**LISTEN TO ME**!_"

Zim snapped his mouth shut, clearly seething, barely managing to stay silent.

Dib took a deep breath in.

"Zim. You need to come back to earth."

"ZIM WILL MOVE _NOWHERE_!"

"Zim," he groaned in exhaustion. He has forgotten how tiring quarreling with the little alien was.

"Listen. You want to be the one to kill me, right?"

Zim raised a non-existent eyebrow, but tentatively nodded.

"Great. That's good to know," he mumbled to no one in particular.

His eyes drifted off for a moment, but quickly darted back to the monitor.

"Well. I'm gonna be killed by your leaders here if you don't come back to earth," he chuckled anxiously.

"So, it's probably in both of our interests if you get back here, because I actually managed to bargain for your life. Either way, they would find you soon after," he grimaced.

Zim was silent.

Zim is never silent.

_This... isn't Zim._

"...I see. I, um. I have to go. BYE." the Irken panicked.

Zim abruptly cut off the transmission.

He didn't want to go back, but he would probably have to. Knowing the tallest, they wouldn't kill Dib. They would do far worse.

~🔗~

Dib sat down on the couch to regain his bearings. No wonder he got put in therapy. Zim's bullshit had obviously drove him insane as a child. He rubbed at his eyelids tiredly.

The human took slow, measured breaths. The Tallest eyed him in confusion.

"Uh. You dying over there? Can't exactly keep up your end of the deal if you're dead," Purple mused.

"Wouldn't that be a treat." Dib replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

It was quiet for a bit, leaving Dib to contemplate everything. He could hear the cars pass by outside, the soft sounds of driving oddly soothing at the moment.

Purple finally broke the silence a moment later.

"So. Earthling. What food can we actually eat on this ball of dirt?"


	5. Far, Far Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for the time being. I don't want people to think this is abandoned. I just have a lot of work. I won't be one of *those* writers. I'll do my best to update at least once every two weeks.

"So. Earthling. What food can we actually eat on this ball of dirt?" Purple bore his eyes at the human.

Dib looked at them in contempt.

"Listen, alien _scum_. There is nothing I can do while the both of you are out of a disguise. And why do I **need** to help you? We've already made a deal. I owe you nothing."

Red looked down at the boy, towering over him. "If you were really as smart as you say, _Dib,_ you'd know your place."

Dib laughed in amusement. "I know exactly where my place is. It's here. Big surprise: yours isn't. You know absolutely nothing about this planet. So, if you don't want to be subjected to the thousands of things that Irkens are allergic to, you probably shouldn't kill me." He knew he had a point.

Suddenly wanting to change the atmosphere, an idea came to him.  
"Hey, don't you guys have access to cloaking technology?" he queried.

"What's it to you? Huh? Huh?" responded Purple.

Dib cleared his throat. "Well. If I can get ahold of cloaking technology, I can modify it like Tak did, to make a human disguise!"

Red and Purple froze up upon hearing the alien's name.

"Tak? The Irken?" Dib repeated, a bit nervous now.

Still silence. Oddly _suspicious_ silence.

No. No, it couldn't be…

Fuuuuck.

"She's dead, isn't she?" 

Both Tallest avoided his gaze. He wasn't too surprised, honestly. It was just sad.

Dib coughed.

"Um. If you guys give me those cloaking devices I'll get started on them."

Red scoffed, avoiding eye contact.

"We already have disguises. We aren't idiots." He retorted.

~🔗~

Zim sat on his couch, mumbling to himself.

How do you go about confronting people who want to kill you? When you've abandoned a person who relied on you just as much as you relied on them, how do you explain your reasoning?

For someone who was conditioned to think using their PAK, an emotionless second brain, emotions were confusing and frustrating. How do you find the solution to something you don't understand?

For how intelligent the Irken race is, it's appalling how little they understand themselves. They become so focused on what is good for the Empire, they have little to no self preservation.

It's one of the many things that made Zim stand out during Invader training. The other Irkens always fought on the offensive. They fought until they bled.

Zim always avoided getting hurt. He dodged, blocked, and used distractions to gain an advantage. He had to work so much harder than everyone else, simply to reach the bare minimum. And it was painful. But it left him with something the other Invaders would never have. And it made him feel just a little bit better about himself.

A planet he could call his own. A place where he was at the top. Where he could outrank everyone else.

On top of that, unbeknownst to him, he had also gained a friend.

Zim stood up, stretching out his arms. He pressed his hand into his 'shoulder blade' muscle, as they called it. He seriously never understood why it was named that way. It isn't even sharp, or even remotely blade-like. He's checked.

He may as well start packing up his things.

"Computer, compress the house into travel size. We're going home."

Zim stepped out of the house as it began to fold in on itself. He had also been tampering with the house-making machine to collapse in on itself so that he could bring it anywhere. GIR always helped out with that process.

He never exactly learned where everything goes. And he's sure that if he found out, he'd wish he didn't know.

Maybe GIR ate it. He always found ways to eat things that shouldn't be able to fit inside of him.

Like the one time he ate that baby.

Zim was still weirded out and grossly impressed at how he managed to do that.

In under a minute, the house had compressed itself into a cube that fit in his palm. It was a silvery-purple metal, with a single purple dot on every side. Tiny, symmetrical engraved designs were on each side.

He closed his three-clawed hand in on the cube, fidgeting with it.

He was headed home. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that, or how to feel about it.

\--


	6. Order in the Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another. Might update again today later on.

Gaz wasn't the type to pay attention to her brother's antics. But this, this was bothering her.

She tightened her hands that were holding her Game Slave.

Dib was being weird. Not that he isn't already weird. He's just...weirder. He's too quiet. He's hiding something. God, if he's getting back into the paranormal shit again…

For the past three days, he'd been constantly checking his phone. Always writing something down in his journal as if he were taking notes.

Dib didn't use his phone. He answered calls and emails, sure. But he didn't check his phone every two minutes, as if checking to see if it had turned into a bomb yet.

Her brother wasn't like this. When Zim was around, sure. But this was worse. He was doing the exact things he used to do when he was worried about one of the green alien's schemes. But he was too quiet. Dib was not a quiet person. If Zim was around, he'd be telling everyone. Warning everyone. And if this was serious enough for Dib to actually keep his damn mouth shut, it was serious.

In any other situation, she'd consider it a godsend. Her brother talked too much. He went on rants every hour of the day, complained to her about his teachers, well aware that she didn't like having to deal with it. But she put up with it, knowing that in the end, it really did help, even if only a little bit. Neither of them had anyone to talk about concerning their deeply-rooted issues. When your dad is the smartest person on the planet, it's near impossible to find a person to talk to who understands your situation. But they understood each other. No matter how much she despised his determination, she could never truly hate her brother.

She reluctantly placed her Game Slave onto the table in front of her.

Gaz knew if she was gonna find out what her brother was hiding, she'd have to fully invest herself in it.

\--

Gaz is gonna have my head if I'm not home for dinner.

Currently, Dib is inside of a Fro-Yo. He's never been too fond of frozen yogurt. But the two Irkens seem to be enjoying themselves.

The two irkens are in disguise. They look almost completely human. Tallest Red has black hair, is in a long maroon trenchcoat, with long gray boots, gray leggings, and a red neckerchief. Tallest purple is in the exact same attire, but in shades of purple. His trenchcoat is slightly shorter than his red counterpart. He also has blond hair.

It's odd, seeing them with a completely human disguise. For Tak, it wasn't odd because she had been introduced in that disguise. But seeing an Irken turn into a full-blown human? It's really strange to look at.

He almost felt like the two irkens were jacking his style. Dib was the only one who wore a trenchcoat among the people he knew. It was a distinguishing feature for him, no matter how negative the association may be.

He fiddled with his fork.

He felt a sudden buzz in his back pocket, startling him. He'd been so deep in though he'd almost forgot where he was.

He ignored it. Maybe it wasn't important.

His phone buzzed again a few minutes later. Nope. Not gonna check it.

Another minute passes. Three buzzes in a row.

Might as well check.

Text from Gaz (1)

Fuck. I'm screwed.

He hesitantly opened the text.

\--  
6:21pm

Gaz: where the fuck are you it's dinner time

6:24pm

Gaz: don't ignore me dammit

6:27:

Gaz: respond or I'm calling you  
\--

He started typing a response. He needs to come up with something that won't be questioned.

\--  
Dib: i was taking a shit  
Gaz: idc get home  
Gaz: or ill make sure you never shit again

Dib: jesus fuck ok I'm coming home

Gaz: good  
\--

"Hey. Guys. We gotta go back now, it's getting late."

Clearly neither Tallest were too happy to be leaving. Purple crossed his arms in protest.

"But…this filthy earth goo is tasty!" Purple whined.

Red nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah. And we will starve if you don't feed us. You have to keep your end of the deal."

Dib groaned.  
"Then I'm not getting you donuts for breakfast tomorrow."

Red and Purple looked taken aback. 

Red crossed his arms.  
"Hey, you can't do that!" 

Dib raised an eyebrow.

"I totally can. I guess you don't want donuts then..."

Red and Purple glared at him. They stood up from their seats.

The donut threat always works.


	7. Touch-and-Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to leave kudos if you enjoy this work :)

Dib sat on the roof of a building, looking up at the stars in the night sky.

Despite everything that's happened, he still stares up at the night's sky with wonder in his eyes. 

Those bright little balls of hope persisted in a land of darkness and emptiness. 

His desire to know what is out there has only grown since Zim's arrival on Earth. The knowledge of Zim didn't cease his wonder. In fact, Zim was the first domino to fall. 

He turned on his side to grab a journal that sat next to him, and sat up. Pulling out a pen from his trenchcoat pocket, he then clicked the pen open and began to write on the next page of unused paper.

He still remembers certain snippets of conversation with a younger Zim. He's written journals of recollection on every scheme Zim has pulled, strange things he's said, odd emotions he's expressed, among countless other things. 

And yet, all of the information on Zim's behaviours seem to contradict themselves at every turn. 

The things he's said always contradict themselves. He accuses others of lying while lying to himself. Says he finds Dib repulsive, and makes no acts to avoid him. Claims he is the best Irken Invader when there is living proof that he may not be.

And even though he doesn't know Zim's exact reasons, he has the feeling that he may be the only one who understands why he does it.

The Irken has always kept an eye on him. Watched his every move. He's built listening devices, stalked him from inside bushes, paid Gaz for information, and even  **built a clone** of the raven-haired boy in an attempt to sabotage PEG.

Despite how creepy the alien tended to be, he admired his self-confidence. Zim's pride and confidence in his abilities was what made his terrible ideas better than what anyone else could do with such a stupid concept. And yet he went to such great lengths to prevent anything that didn't sway in his favor. He tended to act blissfully ignorant, but deep down, he's willing to bet that the alien  _ knows  _ his plans were doomed from the start. 

If the alien could hear his thoughts right now, he'd be outright denying it, pointing and accusing. He can almost  **hear** the boy scream  _ 'LIES! The filthy earth-boy LIES!'.  _

Dib sighs, carefully writing onto the paper.

He has to wonder:  _ 'How much has Zim changed in the time he's been gone?' _

Maybe the boy would be a bit taller. Maybe he'd finally changed into a different piece of clothing. Maybe he'd even come back with a bit of common sense?

_ 'I know it's wishful thinking, but a man can dream. Heh, that'd be pretty amusing. A competent Zim…' _

"Though it wouldn't really be Zim if he was competent, now would it?" he softly thought aloud.

_ 'I suppose not.' _

He doubts the alien would agree to it, but maybe when he arrives, they could just sit and catch up. No fighting, just talking. Talk about the lost time, get an idea of how one another has changed. 

After all, Dib hadn't been up to fight in a long time. He fights better than before, sure. But what's the point in throwing a couple punches if you don't mean it? 

He knows for certain that Zim would rather have Dib turn down a fight than fight one without any drive. That would be diminishing, even insulting to the alien.

He clicks his pen shut.

_ When all the stars go out, _

_ You're bright enough to see. _

_ You're a ghost in the room. _

_ Always seen, but not by them. _

_ You have eyes on the back of my head. _

_ But when I look, they're never there. _

_ You whisper that you're here, _

_ and that we are an inseparable pair. _

_ And yet when I check again,  _

_ The voice was never there. _

_ I ask around, stunned, shook, _

_ And all they ever give are strange looks. _

_ I look and check through every nook, _

_ A reason you booked it? _

_ My pride, you took it. _

_ My passion, overlooked it. _

_ You've been wiped off the face of the planet. _

_ And now I truly see, _

_ The burden lies with me. _

_ To find where you've gone, _

_ To carry what you leave. _

  
  


That night, after 5 long years, 

Dib's finally getting a good night's sleep.


	8. Starships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a late post. as an apology, here's a little bit of story context!
> 
> zim has been hiding on the moon of an abandoned vortian planet.
> 
> zim is still as self absorbed as ever, but he's now been upgraded with basic human empathy :)
> 
> dib is a writer
> 
> and gaz is currently spying on dib's every move. expect another gaz chapter soon!

Two weeks pass.

Being stuck in a spaceship with a less-than-sane crayon-eating robot is not ideal. Neither is anything that has happened in the last month or so.

Zim has been plagued with nightmares recently. They're mostly about his death, or his failure. Now that he is no longer an 'Invader', he wishes to take down all that dare stand in between him and revenge. His plot of revenge? He's, uh…not figured out what it is yet.

He can only hope his PAK will cooperate long enough to make that possible.

He's scrapped many revenge plans over the last three years (he spent the first two moping) and attempted a few others. The only one that ever remotely impacted the empire is when he managed to mess up the Armada's GPS system. He heard it threw them off track for a bit. Of course, by product of his exile, he never got to see the look on their faces when they didn't get their way.

GIR, however, has been thoroughly enjoying himself. Despite the crayon-eating, he also hasn't been too much of a pain to deal with lately. 

Again, he has to wonder where the things he eats go to. A dispenser? Laser disintegration? Dissolving with toxic waste? 

Unsurprisingly, none of that phases him. For GIR, anything could be true.

The Tallest's arrival on Earth can mean many things. For one, it could mean he finally gets his revenge. It could also be his death. A very messy one, at that.

For all he knows, this could be a team-up between his worst nightmares in an attempt to get rid of him one and for all.

He laughs at himself for even thinking that. The prospect that Dib would team up with one of his kind,  **_willingly_ ** at that, even to take down his worst enemy is simply insane. Dib is somewhat intelligent. 

Even with the human's persistence to take the alien down, even threats to  _ vivisect  _ him at times, Zim can say with certainty that Dib wouldn't team up with the tallest. 

But he still can't help but be nervous.

Out of the corner of his eye, big blue eyelights turn to face him.

"Mastaaaa, are we almost there?"

He scrunches up his face in thought. Truth be told, he'd been worrying about possibilities so much that he forgot about his current situation. 

"Computer, open up the flight route to Earth." he says in exhaustion.

A hologram of the flight route shows up on the front glass of the ship. Outlined in neon pinks and purples, it shows they are... about 3/4ths of the way there. He'll have to stop to get the ship tuned up before arriving on the new planet.

"Alright GIR. We have ONE more stop to do before we will be 'almost there'."

The SIR unit gasped in excitement.

"CAN I BE A MONGOOSE THIS TIME?"

Zim puts his face into his palms, groaning in defeat.

"....maybe. But no promises."

GIR was so excited, he let out a glass-shattering squeal. 

"GIR! Cease that squealing!" 

The SIR unit immediately stood up straight, eyes turning to a bright red.

"Yes, Master!" the robot said, right hand in salute.

Yes, Zim had finally been able to make the robot a bit more competent. About a year back, the robot had a squealing fit that lasted about an hour, full of running back and forth, and eating up small objects, not too different to that of a teething earth-baby. 

After that incident, he'd opened up GIR's 'head', and implanted a chip similar to the one he'd made for his PAK. The chip detects the most likely issue and relays the information back to the processor, or 'brain'. 

Though this processor caused a few issues with Zim's PAK.

A long time ago, the Irkens found ways to modify their PAK. It used to be far more shell-like, and was completely natural. It almost worked like a multitool.

When Zim modified his PAK with the chip, he started noticing odd changes. 

His happiness suddenly felt different. It wasn't like he didn't have it before, it had just felt...alien. It was a different kind of happiness. 

His happiness was conquering planets, creating weapons of mass destruction, defeating Dib...

Now, he suddenly felt all warm and weird inside for the weirdest reasons. Like sitting down with GIR to eat taquitos. Or watching a movie. It was all weird...and gross...

Some of the odd emotions weren't even happiness. A few months ago, GIR had managed to get ahold of a Meekrobian drama movie. He'd spent 3 hours sobbing on the couch. 

He still wonders how GIR managed to get that. He'd been hiding out on the moon of an abandoned planet, further out than Earth, that Prisoner 777 had once accidentally mentioned to him.

Zim is fairly certain that the planet had previously been home to Vortians. 

GIR is like a walking Bermuda Triangle. He sucks up everything in sight, likely to never be seen again. The only time he'd ever been able to get ahold of anything Meekrobian would be…. a little over 6 years ago, back when he was first traveling to Earth. 

_ 'Wait, was it really six years ago?'  _ he wondered.

"Computer, what Earth year is it?" he asked, slight concern seeping through his voice.

"Ugh…..like, 2022? Something like that…" the computer deadpanned.

Zim winced.

_ 'No wonder Dib looked so mad…' _

Even GIR looked up for a minute in surprise before slowly averting his eyes back to his drawing.

When you manage to get  _ GIR's _ attention without talking directly to him, it's a big deal.

He's really dug himself a grave this time. 


	9. The Art of Stalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finally made a chapter with over 1000 words. I seriously question the sanity of those who write 3000-word chapters now.

Dib's been looking increasingly antsy for a few weeks now.

Over the last month or so, Gaz has been keeping a close eye on her brother. At first, she just kept a close eye on him at school. Nothing unusual happened, except the fact that he's still writing in that damn journal. 

Usually, she'd find a way to get her hands on it. But he never puts the damn thing down, so that's not an option.

Dib had been spending way too much time outside of the house. He's not a very social person...when it comes to humans, at least. 

So she'd narrowed the issues down to 2 possible causes.

One being that Dib finally got a girlfriend. But she's fairly certain that he doesn't have a romantic interest. He's never even looked at a girl or a guy with interest. If he had, it would be perfect blackmail material. So that's an obvious 'implausible.' 

The second being that Dib has somehow managed to get his hands on something that needs to be closely monitored, and in secret. Which is the most likely option.

So that leads to the current situation; Gaz is currently monitoring Dib's location, using a GPS she'd strapped to his shoe the other day. 

He's actually getting ready to go out the door, to head to school right now.

The raven haired boy suddenly turns around.

"Hey Gaz, have you seen anything weird lately?" he questions.

Gaz furrows her eyebrows and turns to face him.

"Actually, I have. It's on your forehead." she says sincerely.

Dib raised a hand to his forehead before processing what she said. He sharply turned his head to glare at his sister.

"My head isn't that big! Why does everyone think my head is so big?!" he says, exasperated.

Gaz only responds with a smirk.

Dib glares at her as he walks out the door.

••

Dib started towards the alien's house. All while muttering complaints about how his head 'isn't that big'. 

It's strangely foggy today, and Dib notices. The usual fall weather is foggy, but this is far more than that.

A lot of unusual things have been reoccurring over the last few years though. That illness from a few years ago lasted until mid-2021, and caused over a sixth of the population to switch to virtual school. Of course, his dad developed a vaccine, but people are still paranoid. 

Gaz only does virtual school because it means she gets more time to play her videogames, which she very blatantly explained to their dad. Dib had also tried to explain why he should go to virtual school, but his dad caught on pretty quickly that he was going to use his free time for paranormal investigation.

He still uses the occasional weekend to go cryptid hunting.

But the difference between now and five years ago is that he's more inclined to keep what he finds to himself.

The entire reason he wanted to expose these things when he was younger was to prove his dad wrong. But now that it's clear that people are too closed-minded to understand, he doesn't bother sharing these things anymore.

It's actually kind of nice to know something that nobody else knows. 

Speaking of things that nobody else knows. The Tallest have been getting very impatient and demanding lately. He has to wonder if they've ever been told to wait for something.

It's like working with two very intelligent, very whiny toddlers. 

The irony and hypocrisy of that statement isn't lost on him, and he takes a moment to scoff at old memories of him hunting Zim. 

In any other situation, the impatience and creepiness would have been justified. But he always knew Zim was bad at his job. 

There was even that one time that Dib decided to become a scientist like his dad. And he'd seen with his own two eyes that if he'd ignored

Zim, the 'threat' would have been neutralized. 

'Maybe we could've been friends.'

Speaking of neutralizing threats, there's a rustle and crunch of leaves behind Dib. He gets the vague feeling of being watched.

Well, the school isn't too far from here.

He avoided turning around. That's probably the last thing you wanna do when you feel like you're being followed. 

So he picked up his pace enough to run if needed, but not enough to seem suspicious.

He quickly walked up the stairs to the main entrance.

'Ok. That was weird. Weirder than usual.'

Quickly shoving his bag in his locker, he speedwalks over to his homeroom. The teacher glares at him.

**"Dib, you're late!"**

Dib rolls his eyes and sits down in his seat, fully prepared to get a lecture on how much of his life he's wasting by being late, and how "we're all doomed, doomed, doomed." He's fairly certain this teacher is a relative of Ms. Bitters. And he's got a hunch that Ms. Bitters is an alien, considering she's not dead yet.

••

Zim is crouched, with raised hands in the direction of the defective robot.

He sucks in a harsh breath through his mouth. 

"Ok GIR. While I'm getting the ship fixed, you need to behave like a normal SIR unit. Since the Vortians are still under Irken control, they can't refuse to fix my ship. I just need to disguise myself." he quickly lets out. 

Clearly that all went over the robot's head, because GIR just stares at him. 

Zim stares back.

"...Be good while I get the ship fixed." Zim deadpanned.

"Okie dokie!" the SIR unit replies, tongue sticking out.

The SIR immediately skittered away to consume more crayons. 

Zim lets out another groan. Maybe he shouldn't have fixed his PAK. Then he'd be able to ignore all of this.

Suddenly, a booming voice comes through the ship, startling Zim out of his trance. He falls onto his rear. 

**"Approaching planet! Estimated time of arrival is: seven minutes."**

Zim sighs and stands back up. He stretches out his back, letting out an exhausted sigh. The alien has no need to do it, but it's still relaxing to do so.

He sauntered over to the ship's exit, putting on a pair of very heavy-looking boots.

In order to get the ship fixed, no questions asked, he needs to present as an Irken Elite. Zim had learned fairly quickly that not all earth cosmetics were useless. 

So, taking the idea of platform wedge boots, Zim had turned a pair of standard-issue Irken Elite boots and modified them to boost his height. That way, his authority wouldn't be questioned. 

Fortunately, holographic disguises wouldn't be necessary for this.

Very carefully, Zim marked the symbol of the Irken Elite onto his forehead. It was a pink triangle that pointed down, with a wedge cut out at the top. Sharp lines were the difficult part to replicate.

Quickly finishing up the head markings, he put on the clunky metal gear. It wasn't too heavy, but it was pretty unconventional. Not good for fighting.

**"Estimated time of arrival is now two minutes**."

"Ok Computer, I got it." the Invader sighs.

_'This should be interesting.'_


	10. Don't Play Dumb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update... Here's my 1.7k word apology.

Something is wrong. 

Really, really wrong.

Dib slowly creeped out the front door of his house, with his backpack on, attempting to be as "normal" as one can be.

Someone really was watching him. They're pretty bad at it too. But this is no time to underestimate them. He has two aliens to babysit.

In order to find out what's following him, he'd have to pretend he didn't know it was there. He's never been a good liar either. 

Usually, he took pride in his honesty. It's what he'd used to ignore similarities between him and the 'green alien scum' living down the road. 

He'd been sure to eliminate anything on himself that could be considered a threat to whatever (or whomever) was following him. 

With his current responsibilities, the thing following him could be anything, from his sister to an Irkens who has somehow caught on to the Tallest's situation.

And even so, Zim was likely coming back to earth within the next few days or so. He'd have double the responsibility once that happens.

'' _Back_ ' to earth? _Really_?'

Dib scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. Even with his anger and irritation at the alien, and aliens in general, he'd come to categorize the green pest as one of earth. 

Obviously, Zim wasn't. That was his entire shtick. Yell at the alien. Accuse him of being an alien. Collect irrefutable proof of the alien being an alien. Fight the alien. Alien destroys the evidence. Yell at the alien. 

Suddenly, an old memory leaps to the forefront of his mind.

_'You see Gaz, to defeat my enemy, I must study my enemy, then become my enemy, then move in with my enemy, then wear my enemy's clothes, then-'_

Dib's face flushed in embarrassment with the realization that, yes, he has done the fair majority of those things.. The more he thought about it, the more Zim's idea of him being a creepy human stalker stuck with him.

He shivered at the thought. He really _was_ a creepy kid. 

Turning the block, Dib started towards Zim's house, sticking a hand in his backpack's side pocket, rummaging around for a packet of gum he had placed there the other day.

Y'know, maybe it wasn't as obvious as he'd thought. Or maybe, people were just skirting around the truth to avoid living in fear.

Surely, it had to be the latter. His father was a genius. A world-renowned scientist. There's _no way_ he wouldn't have figured it out.

Dib unwraps some foil from two pieces of gum, sticking them into his mouth. He quickly folds the foil into a few squares and sticks it in his back pocket. 

Over the years, the proof of extraterrestrial life had become more and more undeniable, up until the day of the incident. 

The Florpus incident. 

In the aftermath, his father had become more seclusive. For a while, he'd even gone quiet. 

His father was never quiet.

After that, his father's denial had gotten out of hand. His explanations for what he'd seen had been far more outlandish than the idea of an alien invader living on the planet earth, plotting its very destruction before their own eyes.

He realized he'd been unconsciously slowing his walking speed into a stroll.

Dib picked up his pace to a speedwalk fairly quickly. He broke into a nervous sweat, muttering words to himself about his stupid dad and his stupid family. 

He never has, and never will, fully trust either of his remaining family members. Though he still had a good amount of faith in Gaz, she was unpredictable. A rebellious soul. See, Gaz isn't unreliable like his father is, but it's really hard to tell how she'll react to some things. 

He stops at the front of Zim's house and looks up at the sky. He's still nervous, but the sky always has, and always will bring an odd feeling of comfort and belonging back to him.

It's not dark enough yet to see any stars, but not bright enough to wake him up from his sluggish trance.

He stares upwards at the blue afternoon sky, looking for any sunlight beyond the mist.

'It's still foggy.' he thinks, almost a questioning tone from his inner thoughts.

It's been like this for days now. The mist was nice at first, a seemingly innocent and welcome change from the dry fall weather they had been having lately. It's worst in the evenings though; the thick, blinding mist wraps around the city, as if creating a concealing bubble from space, time, and thousands of faraway suns. 

The mist had become almost suffocating to Dib. There was no gentle morning sun, no distant stars to gaze upon. 

Dib walks towards Zim's weird front lawn, but stops in his tracks upon seeing the garden gnomes.

He's walked past this home for years with no sign of the alien. No movement or sign of life. This time, the gnomes seem to glare at him, but it's likely a trick of the eyes. Those gnomes haven't been active in over two years. They most definitely aren't active now.

And yet every day when he walks past them, his guard goes up immediately. Like he's waiting for the fight that will never happen; the fight that was forfeited and abandoned by the enemy. How did he ever deal with this as a kid?

'C'mon. Get over yourself.'

Dib chances one last glance at the gnomes before walking forward. There's no need to be anxious about thi-

The gnome seems to stare right back. 

He nearly chokes on his gum.

"...Holy fuck, did that just move?"

Dib quickly backtracks, leaves the yard and raises his hands in surrender. He really, really doesn't want to deal with this right now.

But the gnomes don't move. It's like they never moved in the first place. 

Dib quickly takes off his glasses, wiping off the condensation from the fog. There's no way he imagined that, right?

He pushes his glasses back up.

The gnomes truly are all staring at him now. There's no denying that.

The boy is suddely brought back to earth with the realization that he's still being watched...and is hit with the second realization that he either needs to get past these creepy gnomes...and camp out inside the alien base... or leave, and ignore the fact that the creepy, overgrowth-covered gnomes were suddenly reactivated after years of unsettling silence.

He chances a small step forward. And another, and another.

And then he's tentatively walking past all _six_ of the gnomes. 

_**He snaps his head back, eyes wide.** _

Wait. _Six_ gnomes? There were only _four_ gnomes. There's no way those two were there before.

'Have I always been this inobservant?' 

He quickly and frantically races through his memories to find an answer. 

Yeah, there's absolutely no way those gnomes were there last week. 

Dib panics, and in a bout of nausea and confusion, he turns his head back towards the door. 

He twists the knob, opening and promptly slamming the door behind him. He leans heavily against the door, panting and grabbing at the air. 

Dib closes his eyes and lets out a long breath, suddenly feeling far less congested and trapped.

"I knew you'd come back. Dib." A taunting voice says.

Dib's eyes snap open at the familiar voice, suddenly frantic and panicked.

The purple-haired nightmare he calls his 'sister' seems to stare into his soul. 

While still in shock, his sister continues.

"You never were able to stay away from Zim for long. But this is just sad. Staying in his house? It's really pathetic. You should do something good with your life for once. Have some fun." 

He knows she's right, but he's not really paying attention to her. His mind is too busy trying to process a thousand things at once.

His sister frowns at this, standing up from her place on the couch.

She suddenly places an arm around his back, walking him over to the couch. A rare, but not unwelcome gesture of kindness coming from his sister.

Dib looks back at her, unable to speak, but his questioning glance is easily understood.

Gaz lets out a huff, and stares at Dib impatiently.

"I know you're not just coming here to reminisce your childhood memories. Why are you here?" 

Dib shifts in his place uncomfortably. He really needs to tell someone this. But he really doesn't know how his sister is gonna react.

He spits out his gum and wraps it back up in the foil before tossing it into a wastebasket sitting beside the living room TV.

He breaths in, contemplating how to explain, when suddenly, something in him breaks. He explains everything to Gaz in great detail, voice frantic and speaking so fast, even he's having trouble understanding himself.

Gaz begins looking increasingly concerned, but she's mostly irritated by Dib's terrible and very questionable decision-making skills.

By the end of it, she's giving him an incredulous sidelong glare, with her face buried in her hands.

"...So. You're being all buddy-buddy with armed and dangerous, unpredictable alien dictators, all so you can get your green boyfriend back." she deadpans.

Dib glances over at her, but not willing to anger her more by correcting her choice of words, he slowly nods. 

He suddenly buries his face in his hands, as if suddenly realizing the gravity of his current situation.

Which he _totally_ is.

He never really reflects on his actions. He's never really had to. Now, however; he really does realize how stupid of a decision it was to get involved in all of this intergalactic drama. 

He's now quickly running through all the other things he could have possibly told that tallest to avoid death. He could have told them anything… the Tallest were so ignorant, they likely wouldn't even remember what planet they had visited, had he gotten them to leave.

She closes her eyes, patiently and slowly breathing in before looking her brother in the eye.

"Listen, Dib. As opposed as I am to involving myself in this mess you've created…if you ever really need my help, I'll do my best to help fix your fuck-up. You're…still my brother," she manages the last part through gritted teeth.

Dib gently smiles at her. Kindness really isn't her strong suit, but he'd take questionably kind statements over eyerolls any day.

"Thanks, Gaz." He replies, throat tightening up. Tears threaten to fall from his eyes.

She scoffs at him knowingly.

"Don't get all emotional and mushy with me now." 

Her words don't match up with her expression, though. Gaz is looking at him with a small, snarky smile on her face.

He wraps his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She protests and squirms a little bit, but she eventually hugs him back.

It doesn't fix much between the two, but it's a good place to start.


	11. Demon Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the late update- lots of stuff going on. But mostly writer's block. Remember to leave kudos if you enjoyed! :P

_Dib's unconscious body looks almost dead in the way it's slouched over. Much to his disappointment, he's definitely not dead._

_As he slowly began to regain consciousness, the easier it became to see his surroundings._

_Something was wrong. What happened? Where was he?_

_His ears were ringing; his head was pounding. He probably has a concussion; but did his best to focus on his surroundings despite the excruciating migraine._

_He thinks he hears footsteps somewhere. But he can't pinpoint where. The footsteps were everywhere. Everything was moving, and he was seeing double._

_Upon turning his head to see where the movement was coming from, he immediately jerks back with a hiss. He was in so, so much pain._

_Had he hit his head while drinking?_

_Was he drugged and beaten?_

_"Please don't move, son. You're making this very difficult." a man says._

_Wait a minute, that's his dad!_

_"Dad?" Dib cried. "What the hell is going on?" He forgetfully tried to move his head again, only to yelp in pain._

_Professor Membrane moved into Dib's limited field of view._

_His father pushes up his goggles before speaking._

_"You were dropped by the front door, my boy. I tried checking the security footage to find out what happened, but…"_

_Dib nodded his head in understanding._

_"It's gone." he croaked out. He didn't know, or why, but he knew it was gone._

_Professor Membrane hesitates a moment before nodding, and gets back to work...on... something? He can't quite see what's going on down there._

_His father is oddly silent. He has a contemplative look on his face._

_"Son." he whispered._

_A loud beeping, like that of a heart monitor suddenly started to become louder and louder._

_Suddenly, his father morphed into something far more alien; bloodthirsty. His dad looked almost feral- growling and foaming at the mouth._

_The beeping started to flatline._

_His father neared his face, observing eyes looking insane at a closer glance._

_"I believe you now."_

* * *

Dib wakes up with a loud gasp, disoriented and dizzy. 

His alarm clock is practically screaming into his ear. He forcefully slaps his hand down onto the snooze button.

Just your average Monday. Nightmares and all.

He's already forgetting what happened, but...that dream was awful. He knows it.

He rubs his eyes, carefully scraping away the morning's dried tears from the corners of his eyes.

Dib props himself up properly on the bed's headboard, letting out a loud sigh as he cracks his back joints.

His mind begins to drift away, and he completely spaces out. It's an odd feeling that often leaves him far more relaxed than before.

The boy just lies there in bed to contemplate life for a moment. What would have changed if his father had believed what he said? What if Zim never went to his school? What if he really started to pursue "Real Science!"? 

He allows himself to drift back off into a light nap. Unfortunately, he won't be sleeping anytime soon after that nightmare, but he may as well relax instead of dwelling on it.

But something _feels wrong_.

He wakes up from said 'light nap' ten minutes later, antsy and unable to fall back asleep.

So he spent several minutes staring at his boring, dark gray ceiling to bore himself back to sleep. It didn't work. He groaned in exhaustion and disappointment.

Stepping out of bed, he slowly lowers one foot to the ground. The boy spends a moment rubbing at his eyes before throwing his other leg off the bed, tossing his bedsheets to the far end of his bed.

He stretches out his sore muscles, tossing his arms from side to side, and then slumping over to touch his toes. Then, he runs his hands across his back area to try and loosen some kinks in his neck and shoulders.

Dib's clothes were sweaty from the night's distress... and overall stink of a pubescent teen boy. He quickly stripped and threw his dirty laundry in the far corner of his room.

Rifling through his drawers, he pulls out an old, dark red "Radiohead" shirt along with some loose jeans. He grabs a stick of deodorant and applies some quickly before tossing on his shirt and putting on pants. Dib then threw on the black backpack that hung on the hook by his bedroom door.

His bedroom door is still covered in supernatural 'woowoo' that he hasn't taken down or even bothered to have replaced or removed. One of them is a signed poster of his father, Professor Membrane.

It's really sad how some of the only memories the siblings have of their father is during infanthood.

He quietly walks out and shuts the bedroom door behind him. There's no way he's gonna let himself wake Gaz- the boy's younger sister is absolutely terrifying when grumpy. 

Dib walks down the hallway and descends the long flight of stairs, stepping carefully on each platform to avoid creaking. 

When he reaches the bottom of the stairwell, he slips on a pair of black, white-laced converse, and bends over to tie his shoes. 

His dad didn't teach him how to tie his shoes. Gaz taught him, though. No matter how much she feigns ignorance, she really does love and care for her brother. 

Pulling up the tongue of his shoe, he rolls his jeans above the high tops slightly for more comfort. All set for school, he drops off his bookbag in the kitchen to make breakfast.

Sure, Foodio could make breakfast quicker, but it never tasted quite as good and felt as accomplishing as when he cooked himself. 

He grabs a black pan from a drawer below the sink, putting it on the stove and turning on the heat. He then put a stick of butter on the pan and let it melt. The butter started to sizzle a bit.

The smell was sure to wake Gaz up. Food was the best way to wake her up. Especially pizza...Bloaty's Pizza. Gross. He would never say that to her face, though.

Grabbing the weirdly pig-shaped honey bottle, he squirted some honey onto the pan before placing a piece of break where the honey was.

Ever since being bitten by those vampire bees, he's eaten a whole lot of honey. His dad still thinks he's imagining and exaggerating the entire thing. The Professor's ignorance is honestly ridiculous. 

Dib suddenly hears faint footsteps coming from upstairs. He flips the bread onto the other side before going to grab some leftover pizza from the refrigerator. 

Gaz stops in the doorway of the kitchen, swaying slightly from exhaustion.

He hears his sister give him a grunt of acknowledgement, rubbing her eyes as she goes to take a seat at the table. She crosses her arms on the table, resting her head atop them.

Dib puts his bread on a plate before preheating the oven to 360°. He nods in the direction of his sister, knowing fully well that she won't want to talk until she's had her pizza and a cup of coffee. 

He also puts some beans into the coffee maker, and prepares everything before starting it. With that in order, he puts the pizza into the oven, letting it cook for a minute or two. The soft sounds of coffee and heat from the oven calmed him.

He opens the oven door and slides the molten pizza slices onto a white dish. He pours his little sister a cup of coffee, mixes in some brown powder and creamer and places it in front of her arms at the table.

Gaz looks up from her arms, finally deciding to move a little. She cautiously takes a sip from the glass before pausing. She gives Dib a small smile- it wasn't decaf. She hates decaf. And it had chocolate powder in it. 

Dib pours himself a cup of coffee and takes his plate of honey toast to the table, sitting across from Gaz. He drinks his coffee black.

Gaz is devouring her pizza, one slice already nearly gone. 

Dib is suddenly feeling a lot less hungry, though. 

"How did you sleep last night?" he questions.

Gaz pauses, and places her pizza back down on her plate.

"What's this about?" she asks.

Dib was quiet for a few moments before responding.

"...Nothing. Don't worry about it." he whispered.

_'Something doesn't feel right.'_

"Well now I KNOW something's off. I'm not leaving until you tell me." she countered, glaring at him a little bit.

"I said it's fine, Gaz! I'm just fine. I'm good," Dib pleaded.

It sounded far too much like he was trying to convince himself he was okay. 

Gaz raised her eyebrow at him, but said no more.

Once they both finished their food, they walked to school in silence.

Dib sat down in his seat at homeroom. He went to all of his classes, but paid no attention.

Today was going to be important. He just _had that feeling._

~🔗~

Later that evening, the Tallest finally came out from the Zim's basement. They seemed to be complaining with each other up until they were aware of his presence.

Something felt _wrong_ again.

"Oh, hey, it's Zim's human." Purple teases.

Dib scoffs in reply. 

"I have a name, you know," He replies after a moment of thinking. 

Purple chuckled at this.

"Yeah, we know. You humans and your names." He stretches out the last word as if to say 'we're much more advanced on Irk. We don't have names.' 

Dib sputtered and barked out a laugh.

"Whaddya mean 'you humans'!? You guys have even weirder names!" he exclaims. 

"Spleen? Dooky? Slacks? _Sploodge_? What the fuck kinda name is _Sploodge?_ "

"Language!" Purple yells in shock.

Purple opens his mouth to continue, but Red interrupts before he has the chance.

"Those names are very normal, thank you very much." He says, wagging one of his 'claws? fingers?' at him. "At least on Irk, everyone has a unique name. So many people here have the same name! How do you tell each other apart?" Red challenges.

Dib slowly blinks at Red, on the verge of a laughing fit. 

Dib lets out a small chuckle instead.

The tallest look confused, expecting an insulting reply at any moment.

He wouldn't be too surprised if provoking people was a sport back on Irk. The Irkens he's met so far are fairly good at it.

Dib raises an amused eyebrow at them before patting the seat that's next to him on the couch.

An invitation.

Purple raises an eyebrow, but seats himself following Red's actions.

Red and Purple both sat down on the left side of the couch, looking a bit wary as they did so. He doesn't blame them though; it's pretty nerve-wracking to be in close quarters with an alien.

Dib bounces his leg anxiously before letting out an awkward cough.

Purple winces at this, and Red flinches away. Clearly, germaphobia isn't just a 'Zim' thing.

"...So. Why'd you guys send Zim to Earth?"

He refrains from asking any other questions, no matter how much he wants to.

Purple let out a breathy, muffled laugh.

Red just looked at the human in discontent.

"Kid. As interesting as you are, those are private Irken matters. If we told you, we'd have to kill you."

Purple cut in quickly before Red could continue.

"And on top of that; once we have Zim secured, we have to wipe his existence clean off of Irkens records. It gives us a bad rap!"

Red slowly turns his head to look at Purple.

"Really? Do you really think it was a good idea to _tell_ him _that_?" Red whisper-yelled.

Purple merely shrugged. "It's not like he actually has the power to do anything. He's not that smart." he whispered.

Dib scratched behind his ear, facing away from the two tallest.

He'd prefer that they continue to underestimate him. The less intelligent they think he is, the better.

Red scoffed. "Like you would know _smart_ _._ When was the last time you even did something useful for the Empire?" 

Purple gaped at Red in shock. "You take that back!" He yelled.

With the two tallest now yelling at each other, Dib just grabs his backpack and leaves the weird green house.

He's having that feeling again.

Something _bad_ is gonna happen. 

He needs to tell Gaz.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, constructive criticism and advice is highly valued! Comments mean the world to me :)


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